by Michael Dean Thompson
Prison guards in Connecticut employed too much force and used improper techniques on a prisoner suspected of carrying drugs, according to the Connecticut correctional ombudsman.
The May 2025 incident was originally planned by guards, who had received information that Richard Benson had been …
by Michael Dean Thompson
The reality of consistent prison overcrowding sparked new legislation in Colorado, which Governor Jared Polis (D) signed in May of this year. Senate Bill 159 (SB 159) expands earned time credits for some prisoners while also establishing a working group that will make recommendations …
by Michael Dean Thompson
Prisons have become more violent and deadly over the past five years, in a large part due to a nationwide shortage of prison staff. Safe Inside is a nonpartisan, national initiative focused on making prisons safer and healthier places to work and live. Using …
by Michael Dean Thompson
The Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) has updated its Money of Mass Incarceration report, which had previously been released in 2017. The February 2026 report shows some striking growth in prison expenditures exceeding that of inflation, even as the actual number of incarcerated persons shrank …
by Michael Dean Thompson
The 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) requires prison officials to consider vulnerabilities such as LGBTQ+ status when making housing decisions precisely because LGBTQ+ prisoners are more likely to be victims of sexual violence. For incarcerated transgender prisoners, the threat of sexual violence is …
by Michael Dean Thompson
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan organization that issues fact-based reports to help guide Congress and federal agencies, was tasked with reviewing the federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) efforts to eliminate sexual assaults via compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).
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by Michael Dean Thompson
Former Sergeant J. Corbin Douglas Tunstall was being dismissed from the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC) when he filed his resignation in February 2022. His subsequent lawsuit against DOC for racial discrimination revealed an utter disregard by guards and medical staff as a stabbing …
by Michael Dean Thompson
A report published this year by the Office of Correction and Law Enforcement Monitoring (OCLEM) showed how an unnamed Santa Clara County jail worker traded drugs with incarcerated women in exchange for sexual favors. OCLEM is a county watchdog office that monitors the Santa …
by Michael Dean Thompson
The New York State Commission of Correction (SCOC), a uniquely powerful body that is intended to monitor prisons and jails for compliance with state regulations, has only two of the five commissioner’s seats filled, leaving the SCOC unable to meet and vote due to …
by Michael Dean Thompson
Wexford Health Services, Inc. is a private healthcare profiteer that contracts with prison systems and jails across the country, offering “comprehensive” medical services to incarcerated persons. However, Wexford provides opioid withdrawal treatment only as an optional service at additional cost to the prison or …
